Phytoplankton East of Banks Peninsula, New Zealand

The faint swirls of a phytoplankton bloom can be observed in the waters off the coast of New Zealand, east of the Banks Peninsula on the country’s South Island. Part of the North Island can be observed north of the bloom, at the top edge.

The bright bluish-green water framing the coastline of the peninsula is probably sediment re-suspended from the ocean floor by waves and tides, or washed into the ocean through rivers. In several places along the shoreline, tan sediments can be seen pouring into the ocean directly at the mouths of rivers.